Chair structure



Nov. 20, 1951 o. s. CAESAR 2,575,487

' CHAIR STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 14, 1947 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 131/221 for? O. S. CAESAR CHAIR STRUCTURE Nov. 20, 1951 Filed Nov. 14, 1947 Nov. 20, 1951 o. s. CAESAR 2,575,487 7 CHAIR STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 14, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 as the sole means to which the weightwsuppfirting Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2,575,48i

CHAIR STRUCTURE Orville S. Caesar, Barrington, Ill. Application November 14, 1947, Serial No. 785,954

This invention relates to improvements in chair or seat structures, particularly adapted for use on public vehicles in which the seated passengers have heretofore beensubmitted to considerable jar due to road conditions. The invention has among its important objects, to provide an inexpensive strong lightweight chair'wh'ich is particularly well adapted to, substantially prevent transmission to a seated person, of jars incident to the operation of public vehicles, such as busses', over rough or undulating road surfaces.

It has always been'a problem in this art to; reduce these jarsto the desired minimum and at the same time to obtain a seat in which the user can recline, in comfort'and in which the act of reclining does not so move any part of the seat and particularly the back so as to take up space in front of the-seat behind. Hereto fore, swinging backs have been used and to some extent their use has solved the problem of comfort, but at the same time another problem was presented in regard to the spacing between the seats. V

It is now a common practice to provide seats with adjustable backs for reclining, but when the back of such a seat is in reclining position it is taking up the'space in front of the seat behind it. It is therefore an object herein to' provide a chair having a fixed as distinguished from a swinging back, butto so arrange the back and seat of the chair that the sitter may be comfortable without the use of an adjustable swinging back. k Another object is to provide means whereby; the body weight supporting portions of the seat and back fabric canbe so connected as to provide for floating action of those portions of the fabric and of the upholstery thereon, to sub stantially'overcome transmission of shock from the vehicle to the seated person. Another object is to provide means whereby the connection of the fabric is facilitated. I

My objects have been in part obtained herein by providing a seat frame which is pivotally connected only at its front and in which down-" ward motion of its rear portion is resisted by.

means of connecting the back material to 'a' skeleton frame in a manner to allow the back material 'to yield downwardly against cushioning means which is concealed in the tubes w for ChairStructure, filed March 15, 1946. The];

structure herein diiiers fromthe structure dis,-

Claims. (01. 1'55' 119 closed in my co-pending applicationyin its sim -f plicity, andinuse of only threebar-like elements fabric is attached-i Another object of this invention is to so connect the base fabric that the degree of cushioning effect of the back base fabric, is proportional to the weight of the seated person, and at same time allow the back material to bulge rearwardly as the sitter leans back after having applied his weight to the seat fabric. This is accomplished by yieldably suspending a swingable seat frame by means of the back fabric. The use of the back material as a connecting element between a swingable seat, and a cushioning means on a stationary part of the chair is believed to be unique. Because of the arrangement herein the angle between the back fabric in the region of its juncture with the fabric of the seat, is widened and makes for sitting comfort. It is also an object of this invention to provide a very lightweight and comfortable skeleton frame or base for bus use, in which the frame is so shaped as to have its base'cover a very small area of the floor, and so as to provide a comfortable back angle, and so as to provide storage space beneath. v

Objects, features and advantages of the inventioh will be pointed out in the description of the drawings, and in said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my chair;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the chair;

Fig. 3 is a plan section taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section through the back section, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and showing the detail of the sliding bar and its cushioning means; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on line 55 of Fig. 2, and further illustrating the fabric suspending structure of the seat-frame;

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the rear end of one of the side members of the seat-frame, on

the same scale as Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately at the level of line 1-1 of Fig. 1

looking upwardly at the far side of the figure; and

Fig. 8'illustrates a modified scheme for attaching a single piece of weight-supporting base fabric to overlie the angle-iron.

The skeleton or base-frame, which is an important element herein, is essentially composed of only three U-shaped sections, each formed by bending a suitable length of metal tubing. This provides'a very cheap and strong base frame, of relatively very light weight, which is of considerable importance for use in public road vehicles. There are, a back section I, and two identically shaped side sections, 2. The back section has a straight top member 3 mergingby curvature into two downwardly directedstraight side membersl;

Each side section 2 has a straight relatively short bottom floor engaging member 5 merging into a longer straight front member I, in turn merging into still longer upwardly arched top member 8 whichserves as an arm rest. The rear ends of the bottom members 6 of the side sections abut and are suitably connected at the bottom of the side members 4 of the back section I,

and the rear ends of the top members 80f the.

side sections abut and are connected to the fronts of the corresponding side members ll of the back section I. All base-frame connections are preferably made by welding, and a very strong lighttions are longer'than the base members 6 of the same frames and since the front members 1 slant upwardly and forwardly, and since the'side members 4 of the back section slant upwardly and rearwardly, the upper part of the chair where the seat-frame swings, is much longer in a direction from front to back than are the lower or floor engaging parts 6 of the side sections. The seat-frame willnow be described.

Between the side sections 2 is arranged the U-shaped seat-frame ll composed ofthree tubular members. There is a front member [2 and two side members 13 extending rearwardly therefrom. This seat frame additionally cross-con nects the side sections 2, by pivoting means described in detail herebelow. The pivoting means are journalled in the front members I of the side sections, at a point near the upper extremities thereof. The seat frame normally slants downwardly and rearwardly to have its rear end extend to a plane which intersects both side members 4 of the back section. The pivoting means is the only connection that the seat frame has with the base or skeleton frame, with the exception, of course, of the connection of the frame with the back section through the medium of the back fabric, in a manner to be described.

The skeleton frame is so formed that the length of its floor engaging members in a direction from front to back is substantially less than the length of the seat frame or seat fabric in the same direction. The floor area covered by thev base is therefore relatively very small. The front members slant upwardly and forwardly and its rear members slant upwardly and rearwardly, whereby when the chairs of this invention are placed in spaced relation in a vehicle floor, space in the front of each chair is substantially increased.

The means by which the seat frame is pivoted to the side. sections is very simple, and consists of a pair of trunnions l4, one at each end of the member 12. Each trunnion: is shown as extending outwardly from a closure plug in the end of the tube 12. This plug can be suitably secured as by welding and the trunnions are eccentric with respect tov the tube l2 and are disposed in top part of the tube as shown. Each trunnion is journalled in a corresponding front memher i ofthe. side section 2. The degree of float"- ing-movement of the seat frame'can" be whatever is required, and is regulated by the tension of the side members.

4 cushion means of the back section and by the engagement of the cushioned bar with the ends of slots in which the bar slides.

The top and side members 3, 4, of the back section I are respectively slotted as at l6, 11, to

provide a continuous slot, which extends entirely across the top member 3 and downwardly for a short distance in each side member 4. Slidable in the slot is a strong horizontal, somewhat platelike, crossbar l8. Initially the larger part of the bar is housed within the tubular top member 3, but this bar 18 has a portion which initially projects as shown, and which is provided with openings 20 by which the upper end of the backforming portion of the fabric 2| is connected to it. The fabric 2|, which may be in two pieces or in a single piece is preferably composed of metal and forms a flexible and extensible but strong base to support the upholstery material.

- Downward motion of this horizontalv bar (8 is yieldabl'y resisted by suitably shock-absorbing cushioning means 25, which is herein represented by springs. Rubber may be used. These springs are under initial compression and each is-supported at its bottom by a plug 26 secured by a crosspin 21. The bottoms 28 of those portions I! of the slot which are in the side members It act as stops to limit downward motion of the bar.

The members 12 and I3 of the seatv frame are also slottedto slidably or translatably receive two horizontal crossbars 30, 3 l, which. with the previously described bar l8 constitutes the sole three means to which the weight-supporting fabric for the back and seat is connected.

The front cross member l2 of the seat frame is slottedas at 32 and the side members I3 are slotted as at 3 3, to provide aslot which is continuous across the front member and into the In this slot slides a front platelike crossbar 31 which has intially the same partly housed relation to the front member 12 as previously described for the cross-bar [8 at the top of the back section. The front bar 31 projects outside of the tube l2 and has openings 34 by r which the forward end of the seat portion of the fabric 2| is secured. Suitable cushions as springs 36, within the side members 13, each precompressed, yieldably resist rearward movement of the. bar 3i and the rearward end of each spring 36 abuts av plug 38 held by a crosspin 39. The

rear portions 40 of the slot of the members 12 and i3 act as stopstolimit rearward motion of the'bar 3i.

The ends. 40 of the slot at the front of the seat frame are so located in relation to the diameter of the tubing 12 and to the horizontal front to back dimension of the plate 3| that the said plate cannot move entirely outof the cross-tube l2, that is. out of that partlof the slot which is in the front pivoting member I 2-. On the other hand the bar (8 at the top of the back section is thicker and stronger than the. just-mentioned front plate 3|, and is allowed a greater degree of downward excursion, but nevertheless the cushioning means 25 or springs, so function as to assure that no boimcingaction of the vehicle will cause the bottom of the bar 18 to violently engage the'ends 28 of the slots I? and thereby submit the sitter to a corresponding disagreeable jar. Thev degree of excursion is ample to respond by downward fioatingac'tion, to the application of the sitters weight to the seat and back fabric. Thelsprings or cushioning means of all bars so -act as to prevent violentstop engagement of said bars with the ends of their slots;

The rear end of each side member l3 of the seat frame has a slot which extends inwardly from the rear end, and in these slots the third crossbar 30 slides. This bar 30 has the form of an angle iron, and its forward movement, from an initial rearwardmost position is yieldably resisted by cushion means or springs 46. The forward end of each spring abuts the plug 41 which is held by a crosspin 48. These springs 46 are also precompressed. The forward ends 50 of the slots 45 act as stops for limiting forward movement of the angle iron or bar. Rearward movement of the bar is limited by a suitable crosspin 5|. The effect of the springs and bars 30 and 3| is to cushion the seat fabric in a highly efiicient manner.

The angle-iron 30, as an intermediate crossbar, is an important structure herein serving as common means to which weight-supporting fabric is connected, whether such fabric be in a single piece or two pieces as shown. The iron 30 initially occupies an extreme rear portion which is in a plane which passes through the rear members 4 of the back section. The iron has its concave side facing upwardly and forwardly and its bottom flange 52 'is longer than its more upright flange 53. The bottom flange slides in the slots 45. Each flange is provided with openings, 54, 55, for the attach ment of the fabric 2|. In this embodiment the fabric is in two pieces, and the rear of the seat fabric is connected, with the openings 54 of the bottom flange 52, and the bottom end of the back fabric is connected with the openings 55 of the more upright flange 53. This iron constitutes a single intermediate member, of three members, which are the sole means to which the back and seat fabric is connected. The inner angle of the iron may be obtuse instead of a right angle in which case the flange 53 can be slanted at the same angle as that of the members 4. Although not shown, the rear ends of the elements 13 may be connected by a brace element to resist outward spread.

The upholstery material has not been shown herein, but may be like that shown in my aforeplied over the weight-supporting fabric of the seat and back, and if desired this upholstery material can overlie only the seat and back fabric, whereby to dispense with upholstering on the other parts of the chair.

The fabric material 2 I has for convenience been shown only diagrammatically. It is connected in any suitable manner to the bars by means of their openings. The fabric has herein been shown as, in part, passing through the openings. Suitable ways of connecting without the use of openings will occur to those skilled in the art. It is noted that only the ends of the fabric are so connected. While the back and seat fabric has been shown in two pieces it is obvious, in view of the arrangement in my co-pending application, that the fabric can be in a single piece and have its mid portion suitably connected to and above the angle iron 30, by suitable means 58 shown in Fig. 8, and which may be passed through the openings 54, 55, as shown. It will be noted that the sides of the fabric or those edges which are parallel with members 4 and 13, can be rethe free margins. When cyclone fencing is used the marginal reinforcing wires, or stretchable material, can pass through marginal loops which are characteristic in the structure of cyclone fencing.

It is contemplated herein to use various fabrics and to have the fabric fioatingly suspended. Metal fabric or webbing may be used such as the cyclone fencing material disclosed in my copending application above mentioned; Over and above the cushioning effects obtained herein by the use of springs or cushions, and by the sus pension of the rear of the seat frame by the back fabric, this metal webbing provides a cushion effect of its own. The structure of this material is not illustrated herein, but it is so made as to have a flexible two-way stretch. This metal webbing provides a very strong base material which willstand up for years and which is therefore a material particularly preferable for-'use in chairs or seats intended for use in public vehicles. Whatever material is used, it is connected solely to cushioned bar elements,'arranged as described herein, and these connections in relation to the floatin connection of the swingable seat frame is believed to be uniquefor any fabric. Moreover, for some uses, only two of the bars may be movable against yieldable elastic resistance. For example, only bars land 30 may so move. Or bar 30 may be fixed and only bars i8 and 3| be movable against yieldable elastic resistance. In either case anti-jar cushioning and floating action is obtained, but the best results are obtained by the use of three cushioned bars. Whatever fabric material is used it may be in two pieces or may be acontinuouselement, and it provides a base, body weight supporting and an upholstery supporting means which by the practice of this invention results ina simple and cheap structure requiring less padding upholstery than is generally required. The upholstery padding and the cover material can be easily connected and applied and simply fastened. By the practice of this invention the amount of padding and upholstery finished material is substantially reduced over that required for any structures known to me.

What I claim is: v 1. In a chair structure which includes a rigid skeleton frame providing aback and sides, a seat frame pivoted to and between the sides so that it can rise and fall at the rear, seat and back fabric, and three bars as the sole means to which the fabric is connected, respectively an upper first bar, an intermediate second bar,and a front third bar, the second bar being sildable in the seat frame, and the first bar being slidable in the back, and cushioning means respectively yieldably resisting downward motion of the first bar and forward motion of the second bar.

2. In a chair structure which includes a rigid skeleton frame providing a back and sides, a seat frame pivoted to and between the sides so that it can rise and'fall at the rear, seat and back fabric, and three bars as the sole means to which the fabric is connected, respectively an upper first bar, an intermediate second bar, and a front third bar, the second and third bars being slidable in the seat frame, and the first bar being slidable in the back, and cushioning means respectively yieldably resisting downward motion of the first bar, forward motion of the second bar, and rearward motion of the third bar.

inforced by marginal wires 56 of stretchable material, which have been represented by heavy lines.

Woven fabric could be similarly reinforced along 3. In a chair structure which includes a rigid skeleton frame providing a back and sides, a seat frame pivoted to and between the sides so that it can rise and, fall-at the-rear, seat and back fabric and three. bars as the. sole means towhich the fabric is connected, respectively an. upper first. bar, an intermediate. second bar as an angleiron, toone flange of which the back fabric is connected and to: the other flange of which the seat fabric is connected, and a front third bar, the second and third bars being connected to the seat frame, and the first bar being slidable the back, and cushioning means yieldably resisting downward motion of the first bar.

4. In a: chair structure which includes a rigid skeleton frame providing a back and sides, a-seat frame pivoted to and between the sides so that it. rise and fall at the rear, seat and back fabric, and three bars as the sole means to which the fabric is connected, respectively an upper first bar, anintermediate second bar asan angleiron to one flange of which the back fabric is connected and to the other flange of which the seatfabric is connected, and a front third bar, the. second, bar being slidable in the seat frame, and the. first. bar being slidable in the back, and resilient means respectively yieldably resisting downward motion of the first bar and forward motion of the second bar.

5.. A chair having a rigid skeleton base frame, composed of U-shaped sections, a back section, and v two identically shaped side sections, the free ends of. the U-arms of the back section being adapted to be at floor level and the free ends of the lit-arms of the side sections abutting and being secured.- to the corresponding U-arms of the back: sections, a U-shaped seat frame arranged betweenthe side sections and having its U-arnis extending rearwa-rdly, means pivoting the seat frame to: the side section so: that the rear of the frame can move up: and down, seat and back fabric, means by which the fabric is connected and suspended only within said seat frame andback section.

6. A chair having a rigid skeleton base frame, composed of U-shaped sections, a back section, and; two identically formed side sections, the free ends of the U-arms of the back sections being adapted to be at floor level and the free ends of the U-arms of the side sections abutting and being secured to the; corresponding U-arms of the back sections, av U-sha-ped seat frame, arranged between the side sections. and having its U-arms extending rearwardly, means pivoting the front of the seat frame to the. side section so that the rear of the frame can move up and down, seat and back fabric, and means connecting the fabric to the seat frame and to the. back at. points between the U-arms, and in. suspended relation thereto.

7. A chair having a. rigid skeleton base frame, composed of U-shaped sections, a back section, and two identically form-ed side sections, the free ends of the U-arms of the back sections being adapted to be at floor. level and the free ends-of the U-arms of the side sections abutting and being secured to the corresponding U-arms of the back sections, a U-shaped seat frame arranged between the sidesections and. having its U -arms extending rearwardly, means. pivoting the seat frame to the side section so thatthe rear of the framecan move up and down, seat and back fabric, and means connecting the fabric tothe seat frame and to the back including, crossbars respectively at the front 8;. and rear ends of the seat frame, anda crossbar at the top of the back frame, the said fabric being suspended by and connected only to said crossbars.

8. A chair having a. rigid skeleton base frame, composed of U-shaped sections, a back section, and two identically formed side sections, thefree ends of the U-arms of the back sections being adapted to be at floor level and the free ends of the U-armsof the side sections abutting and being secured to the corresponding U-armsof the back sections, a U -shaped seat frame arranged between the side sections andv having its U-arms extending rearwardly, means pivoting the seat frame to the side section so that the rear of the frame can move up and down, seat and back fabric, and means connecting the fabric to the seat frame and to the back including, crossbars respectively at the front and rear ends of the seat frame, and a movable crossbar at the top of the back; frame, the said fabric being. suspended by and connected only to said cross bars, and means yieldablymsisting downward. movement of the bar at. the: top of the back frame.

9. A seat structure. comprising, a rigid skeleton frame having an upright, back section and two side sections, a. seat frame. means pivoting the forward side of the seat frame to the forward parts of the side sections so that the frame, canswing up and down, an angle iron slidable in the seat frame at the extreme rear thereof, seat fabric, means connecting the forward side of said seat fabric to the seat frame in a. manner to yieldably resist its rearward movement, means connecting the rear end of the seat fabric tosaid frame in. a, manner to yieldably resist its forward movement, back fabric, having its lower end attached to the last mentioned means, and having its upper end connected, to the upper end of. saidback section in a manner to yieldably resist its downward movement.

10. A chair or seat comprising, a rigid skeleton frame made of tubing and having an inverted U-shaped rear upright frame and having two U-shaped upright side frames each side frame comprising, a floor-engaging base member-and an arm rest member the rear ends of said members being secured to corresponding upright. elements of the rear frame, the arm rest members-being; substantially longer in a direction from-front to back than are the base members, a U-shaped seat frame pivoted at its closed forward side to the fronts of the side frames to swing up and down, back fabric connecting the seat. frame with the rear frame, and seat fabric connected to the seat frame.

- ORVILLE S. CAESAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

